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At around 12 years old, Freddie Mackey learned a lesson no child should have to learn: life can change overnight.

His father had been a police officer for about a decade. His mother worked at a daycare. To young Freddie, they represented hard work, stability and responsibility.

Then drugs entered their lives.

Both of his parents became caught in addiction, and the stability Freddie knew began to disappear. Eventually, he experienced homelessness and found himself navigating circumstances that could have easily changed the course of his life.

“At that age, you do not fully understand why your life is falling apart,” he recalls

.“You only know that the people you depend on are no longer able to give you the stability and protection you need.”

There were plenty of reasons for Freddie to give up. Instead, he kept moving.

Looking back, he believes God was protecting him even when he could not see where his life was headed.

“I truly believe God had His hand over my life,” he says.

His childhood taught him resilience, his circumstances taught him that life would not always be fair, and the absence of stability created in him a hunger for discipline and purpose.

He also made a decision that he would not become a product of his circumstances.

His father’s earlier career in policing had left an impression. Despite the difficulties that later overtook his family, Freddie remembered the uniform, the discipline and the idea of serving others.

In 2002, he joined the Royal Bahamas Police Force. Years later, he became a Sergeant.

For Freddie, the achievement meant far more than a promotion, but represented a journey from a homeless child in Nassau to a man entrusted with responsibility, leadership and the protection of others.

“Every promotion and every achievement reminded me that my past had not defeated me,” he says.

He eventually received the Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct—another milestone in a career that stood in stark contrast to the circumstances of his childhood.

But after approximately two decades serving the Bahamas, Freddie made another difficult decision.

He left. Moving to Toronto meant surrendering the familiarity, recognition and professional standing he had spent years building.

In Canada, he was the new person again.

He had to learn a different system, adapt to a different culture and prove himself all over again.

Today, he works as a Toronto Police Service Parking Enforcement Officer.

Sometimes, when he puts on the uniform, he thinks about the boy he once was. The child who knew homelessness, the teenager who watched addiction change his family, the young man who chose a different path and the Sergeant who served his country.

And now, the immigrant who started again.

“Only God could have brought me this far,” he says.

His greatest hope, however, is about the young Bahamian who may be living through the kind of childhood he once knew.

His message is simple: do not give up.

Stay away from drugs and crime, choose your friends carefully, get an education, learn a trade, find positive mentors, work hard and keep your faith.

Most importantly, he says, remember that your circumstances are not your destiny.

“You may be growing up in a home affected by drugs. You may be living in poverty. You may not know where your next meal is coming from.”

“But none of those things mean your life is finished before it has even begun.”

Freddie cannot change his childhood, neither can he rewrite what happened to his parents.

But he can decide what their story means.

“My past is part of me, but it does not control me.”

The son of a Canadian elderly woman assaulted while on vacation in the Bahamas is devastated after learning of the horrific events surrounding his mother.

“It’s just an unspeakable, horrendous, vile, violent, angry crime against somebody who is so vulnerable,” said David Ahrens.

The 80-year-old woman with Alzheimer’s was on a trip with her daughter at the Warwick Hotel on Paradise Island when the two were separated after the daughter got off the elevator and the mother was left inside with a male guest.

“My younger sister stepped out of the elevator and as she turned around to sort of hand out to get my mom, the doors closed and effectively my mother disappeared,” Ahrens to CTV News.

The daughter frantically searched to find her mother around the hotel for approximately thirty minutes.

With help from other guests and staff, a man and Ahren’s mother were seen coming off the elevator with her underwear in hand.

“Of course my mother was frightened and while we don’t need to go into a ton of detail, but what I will say, and it is horrendous, that she was holding her own underwear in her hand at that point in the elevator,” Ahrens said.

He said a security video shows his mother resisting the man who took her into a hotel room.

His mother was taken to the hospital and doctors confirmed she was sexually assaulted.

Bahamian authorities arrested and charged a 61-year-old Nova Scotia man, accusing him of raping the woman.

“Our concern is the combination of Alzheimer’s plus this incident of being sexually assaulted and rape, you know, that’s playing with her mind. So we’re just worried it’s playing in her subconscious and it’s just making things worse at the moment,” Ahrens said.

Ahren warns families with vulnerable family members to travel safely and use caution.

Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may have disappointed Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry at CARICOM on Thursday when he fell short of offering military presence on the ground in Haiti to quash the surge of unimaginable gang violence in the troubled island nation.

Trudeau instead, promised to deploy two Royal Canadian Navy ships to conduct surveillance and gather intelligence for Haitian police, to assist with quelling the violence –HMCS Glace Bay and Moncton from West Africa, along with 90 sailors.

“Today, I am announcing that Canada will also deploy Royal Canadian Navy vessels to conduct surveillance, gather intelligence and maintain a maritime presence off the Haitian coast in the coming weeks. Canada continues to reinforce the capacities of the Haitian police to overpower armed gangs and hold those who support them accountable.”

Henry, who also participated in the meetings, asked for a foreign military intervention, which the United Nations supports. Instead, the United States suggested that Canada lead the discussions of military operations.

“Canada is elbows deep in terms of trying to help. The best thing we can do to help is enable the Haitian leadership and the patient people themselves to be driving their pathway out of this crisis,” he said in the Bahamas when pressed by reporters.

Trudeau has since stated that Haiti’s restoration must be led by the Haitian people and has left the idea of military intervention as a last resort indicating that Caribbean countries must play a role in “legitimizing” international help, otherwise military operations by the US or Canada can be viewed as “colonialist” interventions.

He also added two other influential Haitians to a list of 15–accused of corruption and gang ties. This group of sanctioned individuals is banned from making economic dealings in Canada—former interim president Jocelerme Privert and ex-political aide Salim Succar.

An additional 12.3 million dollars will be given for humanitarian help and 10 million dollars to assist the International Office on Migration to protect Haitian women and children along the borders.

“The toll of human suffering in Haiti weighs heavily on me.”

Haiti is an embattled country fighting humanitarian, political, and social ills, and since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021, it has descended into further chaos with the raping of Haitian women and children, kidnappings for ransom, and the killing of law enforcement officers.

Photo credits: New York Times, The Guardian

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was chastised over his visit to the Bahamas to attend the 44^th CARICOM meeting where he was a guest speaker on the deepening crisis in Haiti.

Many Canadians, critical of his leadership, took to social media to express their fury.

“The worst prime minister in the history of Canada,” a user posted on Trudeau’s social media page.

Steve Lavell said, “How about clean up the mess you created here in Canada? Canadians are fed up with you.”

Trudeau won a third term in Canada’s snap election, in 2021, but fell short of regaining the majority in the House of Assembly. Most of his support came from smaller parties.

He and his minority Liberal government then brokered a deal with the left-leaning New Democrats to keep his government in power until 2025.

Canada, not a member of the Caribbean, like the United States, is a regional leader and was prompted by the United Nations, to help ease tensions in Haiti. His attendance at CARICOM suggests his country’s partnership to solve the political, security and humanitarian crisis in the beleaguered country, where extreme violence has further destabilized its society since the assassination of Jovenel Moise in 2021.

A sarcastic Carm Baglieri said, “Enjoy your vacation (in the Bahamas) on our dime. So glad you deserve it, working so hard for us.”

“How much is this one going to cost us?” another asked.

Rob Schultz added, “Resign. Do Canada proud, stay there.”

During his visit at the Caribbean community summit, Trudeau made an additional $12.3 million donation for humanitarian help in Haiti and $10 million dollars to assist the International Office on Migration to protect Haitian women and children along the Dominican borders.

Many Canadians are critical of the move.

“The only reason you were invited is that they know you are going to give them hard-earned Canadian taxpayers’ money.”

Sarah Philips said, “Trudeau wants to waste our money on Haiti. Perhaps he should go there in person and roll up his sleeves and do some actual work on the ground.”

“He runs away from responsibilities in Canada, for praise, while our country falls apart. He is shallow and is afraid to work, and is not smart enough to run a country. He throws our money at other countries so he can have his ego stroked,” Marie Anne said.

Some Canadians determined that Trudeau could have conducted his meeting with CARICOM over a video conferencing application.

“Whatever happened to Zoom meetings?” a social media user asked on Twitter.

Another demanded, “Quit traveling and stay home. Use Zoom.”

Murray Jones said, “There’s a thing called Zoom and it’s less expensive.”

Trudeau returned to Canada late Thursday.

Photo credit: CTV News

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s arrival in the Bahamas on Wednesday means the beginning of talks on Haiti’s deepening crisis after the US suggested it lead the intervention in the failed island nation.

When Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who will also participate in the CARICOM meetings, asked for a foreign military intervention due to the strangled hold gangs have on his country’s resources, the United States immediately suggested that Canada lead the discussions and send military troops on the ground.

Trudeau has since stated that any effort to restore Haiti must be led by the Haitian people and has left the idea of military intervention as a last resort, though the US said it should lead one.

Before his arrival to the Bahamas, Trudeau’s office said his discussions at the Caribbean summit, will allow leaders to consider political, security, and humanitarian assistance to Haiti and seek “Haitian-led solutions to the ongoing situation.”

According to Canadian media, Trudeau, when speaking in French, stated before his arrival, that Caribbean countries must play a role in “legitimizing” international help for Haitian people after decades of failed “colonialist” interventions.

In a prèss conference on Tuesday, Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis said Canada and the United States must step up to assist Haiti since the Bahamas has felt the brunt of Haiti’s economic and social instability, through the influx of thousands of Haitians fleeing the troubled state.

“We (The Bahamas) do not have the resources to be able to deal with the Haiti problem ourselves and we do need outside help.”

Davis hinted that the Bahamas would be willing to send personnel to a security mission if it’s needed.

Waves of violence have swept Haiti marked by poverty, the assassination of Haiti President Jovenel Moise in 2021, rising energy prices, corruption, and civil unrest.

Trudeau will speak to the Caribbean panel on Thursday and leave for Ottawa later in the evening.

Photo: Prime Ministers Justin Trudeau and Ariel Henry arrive in the Bahamas on Wednesday to attend the Caribbean Summit

The Free National Movement, like many people, is awaiting the opposition’s acknowledgment of its connection to Canadian Fashion Mogul Peter Nygard, who is awaiting trial for alleged sexual assaults against women and underage girls at his Bahamas estate, Nygard Cay.

In a press statement following the PLP’s accusations that the FNM is using Facebook advertisements to attack its credibility, the FNM said, “Davis has a moral obligation to come clean and acknowledge the pain and suffering these women say his top donor caused to so many. Until Davis does, he leaves many Bahamians to wonder who he looks out for, other than himself.”

Why it matters

A four-part docuseries, Unseamly: The Investigation of Peter Nygard, on Discovery+ recently aired internationally, examining Nygard’s rise to power while highlighting interviews with Peter Nygard’s alleged victims and former employees who reveal dreadful stories about him. One person testified that Nygard collected passports, locked them in rooms with codes, to prevent them from leaving the estate. Watch this link to hear Jane Doe No. 3 describe what happens when she met Peter Nygard when she was 15 years old: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1850004547561

The big picture

Nygard is known as a close friend of the PLP, donating millions of dollars to the party during its time in office in 2012. In fact, a video circulated showing former Labour and National Insurance Minister Shane Gibson receiving payments from Nygard which totaled $94,131.10 over an 18-month period.

Nygard’s former videographer Stephen Feralio captures Peter Nygard talking about Perry Christie winning the 2012 Bahamian election on a cellphone. Visit this link to hear Nygard’s reaction to the 2012 election:  https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1850003523643/

What the FNM says

“The alleged victims of Nygard’s abuse deserve justice. All Bahamians deserve to know the true details of how the PLP elite turned a blind eye to the conduct of a man U.S. prosecutors described as a callous, sex trafficking billionaire.

“Clearly Davis’ dismissive attitude towards these serious allegations proves he has a lot to learn about true leadership if he ever hopes to earn the trust of the people to lead our country.”

“Sadly, for Davis, it is relevant to Nygard’s alleged victims – some who claim they were basically locked in cages as their predator, lurked around waiting to abuse them. The Bahamian people deserve answers now. And when members of Davis’ own party admit they benefited indirectly from Nygard’s financial largesse to the PLP for their campaigns, even more questions are raised.

What Davis said in the past

At the release of the docuseries, Davis told the Nassau Guardian that the PLP’s relationship with Nygard in the past.

And back in December when  Davis was asked to offer his commentary on Nygard’s behavior while in the country, Davis said, “Peter, what’s his name?” Davis asked.

“My position in respect to what I heard or [have] not heard about him is that I’m more concerned about what this election is going to be about.

“I’m not concerned about a foreign action that has been brought against a foreign person who may have had an incident in the Bahamas.”

Featured Image: (Submitted to CBC by Stephen Feralio, Nygard’s former videographer)

The sobering comment by Former Health Minister Duane Sands has set off a public debate mixed with fury and uncertainty.

Sands on a local radio station, Guardian Radio, “The Hitback,” with Nahaja Black, said the heightened case of coronavirus in the country has placed doctors in a position to decide who lives and who dies.

The earnest reality of the pandemic has caused doctors to place patients with other life-threatening diseases like heart disease and cancer on the back burner, causing some to die.

With a high degree of certainty, the former minister said, “I understand the implications of my comment…that is happening now.”

Other countries have done the same

Physicians in the United States of America, Canada, and Italy have already been forced to make such moral decisions.

These countries have larger populations and the unexpected wave of the virus has filled their hospitals beyond capacity. Back in early March, Italy’s health system said there were too many patients for each one to receive adequate care. So, the Italian College of Anesthesia, Analgesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Care (SIAARTI)  published guidelines that doctors should follow as cases worsen.

These patients should be left to die as they place demands on scarce medical resources, according to the document written by a group of medical doctors.

• Patients that are old
• Patients with comorbidities
• Patients who require intensive care

They are guided by the utilitarian approach which stresses the principle, “the greatest good for the largest number,” which would ensure that patients with the highest chance of survival will access intensive care.

Doctors in the Bahamas are reaching that point

When health facilities are full to capacity, physicians are placed in a position where they are unable to manage and provide care for a patient who may need respiratory assistance.

Dr. Nikkiah Forbes, director of the Infectious Disease Programme said she has not personally seen a patient die because of the ability to provide care, but the country is close.

“If we continue beyond capacity, those difficult decisions may have to be made,” she said.

Health workers confirmed that the Bahamas is in a surge and the system is being pushed beyond capacity, emphasizing that the ability to provide care in that environment is challenging.

Eighty-two potcakes left the Bahamas for Canada on Sunday to meet their new family.

The Bahamas Humane Society said it was a collaborative effort with animal rescues in the Nassau and Canada.

“Thank you to our incredible pawtners @potcakepuppypalace and @seapawsrescue, the donors and volunteers, and @lenamanolas for coordinating this epic lift.”

Not only were pups adopted but kittens as well. Eight kittens began their lives with their new families.

“Given there are waiting lists in Canada for our Royal Bahamian Potcakes and Potcats, and limited homes across the Bahamas, these airlifts are so important.”

As soon as animal shelters are emptied, they refill with animals in need, as shelters rarely run out of animals in need.

“We are completely saturated with animals in our care, so again thank you to everyone involved. We can’t wait for the next one.

“These rescue missions are hard work, primarily run by volunteers, whose passion and dedication for these animals are remarkable.  We are so, so grateful.”

Featured images: Bahamas Humane Society

A Bahamian flag is being flown above St. Catharine’s College in the United Kingdom to celebrate its earliest black Bahamian student, Alfred F. Adderly.

As the UK college celebrates Black History Month, the national flag will fly from the college’s flag pole on October 1st and 31st, signifying the start and the end of Black History Month.

The college said following its research project, it found that when Adderley arrived from the Bahamas to study law in 1912, he was the earliest Black member of the college on record.  Adderley graduated and legally trained there. He returned to the Bahamas to practice law.

Who exactly was A.F. Adderly?

• Alfred Francis Adderley was born in Nassau on November 16, 1891.
• He attended Boys’ Central School and the Nassau Grammar School, Denstone College, Staffordshire, England. He worked in New York City for a year and he entered St. Catherine’s College, Cambridge.
• He was called to the English Bar in 1919 and was called to the Bahamas Bar in August 1919.
• In 1923 he was elected to the House of Assembly for Eleuthera and in 1928 he was returned for the Western District.
• He served for several years as Legal Advisor to The House under Speaker Malcolm.
• In 1951, He was appointed a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. He also presided as Acting Chief Justice that same year at the October Sessions of the Supreme Court.
• He fathered the Hon. Paul L. Adderley, former Minister of Finance and Minister of External
  Affairs, Education and Culture and Attorney General.
• He was chancellor of the Anglican Diocese of Nassau, a member of the Vestry of St. Mary’s Church and a member of the Board of Governors of St. John’s College.

What does St Catharine College say?

Professor Sir Mark Welland, Master of St Catharine’s College, said, “This Black History Month, St Catharine’s College is starting the new academic year by embracing over a century of Black students, staff and Fellows contributing to our academic community. We are rightly proud of our Black history, first recorded in 1912 with Alfred F. Adderley, who contributed so much to life at St Catharine’s and in the Bahamas. I’m delighted that the raising of the Bahamian flag today in his memory launches a programme of activities that will enable us all to reflect and build on these important historical experiences throughout October and beyond.”

The Adderley Prize was established by St Catharine’s. The prize is given each year to recognize St Catharine’s law students for outstanding performance in their exams.

Featured Image: St Catharine’s Website

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it is working with Canadian Police to bring home the remains of a Bahamian woman killed in Canada more than two weeks ago.

The ministry said it is obtaining more information surrounding the death of Judith Taylor.

This comes as the ministry also works with its Honorary Consul in Houston Texas to determine the death of Kani Rahming, who was shot and killed in Texas on Friday night.

What we know about Judith Taylor’s death

• Her death is ruled suspicious after she was struck by a UP Express train on September 7th
• According to police officials, a UP Express train was heading east at the location when it struck a woman situated on the rail line.
• At around 5:50 am Toronto police responded to calls of a woman struck by a train at Weston Road and Black Creek Drive.
• Judith was pronounced dead at the scene.
• Police say they are not sure if the incident was intentional or accidental.
• She lived and worked near Toronto, Canada.
• The preliminary investigation report will be completed by the end of this week.

How did UP Express respond to the death?

UP Express suspended its services for a period.

Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikens tweeted, “Sadly a confirmed fatality,” Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins tweeted on Monday. “Thinking about the family and our crew and all those involved in [the] investigation.”

Ministry of Foreign Affairs response

The Ministry officials in conjunction with the Bahamas High Commission in Ottawa will remain in contact with the family of Ms. Taylor, as well as, Bahamian and Canadian Police, to obtain more information .

The ministry requests that the public keep family and loved ones of the deceased in their prayers during this difficult and tragic time.